[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 17, 2015)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D286-D287] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2016 for the Department of Agriculture, after receiving testimony from Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture. APPROPRIATIONS: MILITARY SERVICES Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2016 for the military services, after receiving testimony from Lieutenant General David D. Halverson, Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, and Commanding General, Installation Management Command, Erin Kern, Director, Shore Readiness Division, United States Navy, David R. Clifton, Deputy Assistant Deputy Commandant, Facilities, Installations and Logistics Department, and Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Installations Command, United States Marine Corps, and Brigadier General Timothy S. Green, USAF, Air Force Director of Civil Engineers, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support, all of the Department of Defense. APPROPRIATIONS: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2016 for the Library of Congress and the Architect of the Capitol, after receiving testimony from James Billington, Librarian of Congress, Robert Newlen, Chief of Staff, Mark Sweeney, Associate Librarian for Library Services, Maria Pallante, Register of Copyrights, Mary Mazanec, Director of Congressional Research Service, Elizabeth Scheffler, Acting Chief Information Officer, and Karen Keninger, Director of National Library Service Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, all of the Library of Congress; and Stephen T. Ayers, Architect of the Capitol. DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST AND FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM Committee on Armed Services: Committee received a closed briefing on cyber, space and strategic competition with China and Russia in review of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2016 and the Future Years Defense Program from Admiral Cecil D. Haney, USN, Commander, United States Strategic Command, Admiral Michael S. Rogers, USN, Commander, United States Cyber Command, Director, National Security Agency, and Chief, Central Security Services, and General John E. Hyten, USAF, Commander, Air Force Space Command, all of the Department of Defense. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION BUDGET Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security concluded an oversight hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2016 for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), after receiving testimony from Melvin Carraway, Acting Administrator, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION RELATED TO THE ELECTRIC GRID Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the state of technological innovation related to the electric grid, after receiving testimony from Peter Littlewood, Director, Argonne National Laboratory, and Jeffrey Taft, Chief Architect for Electric Grid Transformation, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, both of the Department of Energy; Lisa Edgar, Florida Public Service Commission Commissioner, Tallahassee, on behalf of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Michael Howard, Electric Power Research Institute, Washington, D.C.; and Lisa M. Barton, American Electric Power, Gahanna, Ohio. BIPARTISAN SPORTSMEN'S ACT Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife concluded a hearing to examine S. 659, to protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting, after receiving testimony from Jeff Crane, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, Washington, D.C.; Dale Hall, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Memphis, Tennessee; and Wayne Pacelle, The Humane Society of the United States, New Haven, Connecticut. BUILDING A COMPETITIVE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TAX SYSTEM Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine building a competitive United States international tax system, after receiving testimony from Pamela F. Olson, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Washington, D.C.; Anthony Smith, Thermo Fisher [[Page D287]] Scientific Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts; Rosanne Altshuler, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Stephen E. Shay, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts. POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS IN VENEZUELA Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues concluded a hearing to examine the deepening political and economic crisis in Venezuela, focusing on implications for United States interests and the Western Hemisphere, after receiving testimony from Edward Alexander Lee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; John E. Smith, Acting Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury; Douglas Farah, IBI Consultants LLC, Takoma Park, Maryland; Santiago A. Canton, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Washington, D.C.; and Christopher Sabatini, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, New York, New York. SECURING THE SOUTHWEST BORDER Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine securing the Southwest border, focusing on perspectives from beyond the beltway, after receiving testimony from Chris Cabrera, National Border Patrol Council, Kingsville, Texas; Mark J. Dannels, Cochise County Sheriff, Bisbee, Arizona; Howard G. Buffett, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Decatur, Illinois; and Monica Weisberg-Stewart, Texas Border Coalition Committee on Border Security and Immigration, and Othal Brand, Jr., both of McAllen, Texas. AMERICA'S HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a hearing to examine America's health information technology (IT) transformation, focusing on translating the promise of electronic health records into better care, after receiving testimony from Julia Adler-Milstein, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor; Robert Wergin, American Academy of Family Physicians, Milford, Nebraska; Peter DeVault, Epic, Madison, Wisconsin; and Angela Kennedy, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston. IMMIGRATION REFORM Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine immigration reform, focusing on the American worker, after receiving testimony from Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO, Ronil Hira, Howard University, and Benjamin Johnson, American Immigration Council, all of Washington, D.C.; Bjorn Billhardt, Enspire, Austin, Texas; John M. Miano, Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, Bellevue; Hal Salzman, Rutgers University E.J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy J.J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Jack B. Palmer Jr., Montgomery, Alabama. INTELLIGENCE Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of the intelligence community.